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The Story Thus Far
Singularity is a plot-heavy game. It contains a great deal of backstory which will continue to unfold as the game progresses; simultaneously, game events and player plots will shape the ongoing narrative. Singularity does have an end point, but the exact nature of it, and the conflict's resolution, will depend largely on player involvement. Background At some point in the far future, yet closer than you might like, corporations replace nations as the dominant bodies of citizenship. Nationhood becomes interlinked with commercial branding; brand loyalty becomes the only socially acceptable form of patriotism. As major conglomerates continue to buy up the basic essentials of life such as water and power, many more citizens turn increasingly to a now stratified, multi-tiered internetwork for all aspects of life, from socialization to work and education. Various nuclear standoffs, trade embargoes and periods of space prospecting later, mankind finds that the only way to escape the oppressive gravity of their home star is to abandon the flesh. Later dubbed the [[Singularity|'Singularity']], humans apply for full digitization in droves, storing their DNA as binary along with their digital consciousnesses as they make their long trek to Zarmina 20.5 light years away, leaving their homeworld of Earth to fall into decay and ruin. Over the passage of millennia, during which mankind goes through multiple digital and organic evolutions, discovers hyperspace travel, and segments into various colonies and sub-species, the record of Earth-That-Was becomes conflated with myth, and Earth becomes known only as Eden. In this post-scarcity, post-Singularity society, the United Terraforming Corporation (UTC), a massive multi-planet conglomerate formed from a variety of incorporated churches and science organizations, comes to the fore with a mission to spread the seed of humanity throughout space and time. Sacrosanct, their 916th venture, is the first equipped with a fully sustainable orbital and integrated CHURCH language AI, Hypatia. Prologue Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. The United Terraforming Corporation completes construction of World-Class Terraformation Orbital 916, Sacrosanct. Outfitted with a dynamic systems management artificial intelligence system, Hypatia, and a human survey team of 218, the orbital dives through trans-membrane hyperspace three times in search of a suitable planetoid, finally arriving at Project 916c, nicknamed Asphodel. Located near the (a?) galactic core, the higher gravity and unstable star population make Project 916c seem like a questionable choice, but the more the survey team debate the issue, the more insistent Hypatia becomes. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. While building prospecting tunnels beneath Asphodel's surface, the survey team discovers pre-existing tunnels which may or may not be the result of an earlier civilization. A drill probe is sent down one of the longest-running tunnels. After [ redacted ], the tunnel [ redacted ]. One member of the survey team is killed, four more injured. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. Hypatia overrules the survey team's reservations and launches initial probes. Surface-side terraformation begins. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. Head programmer [ redacted ] documents critical runtime errors inside Hypatia's core systems. Head prospector [ redacted ] leads a vote to cease terraformation. Hypatia reaches critical error and encrypts 91% of her own records, effectively giving herself amnesia-- and going violently insane in the process. Open conflict erupts aboard Sacrosanct. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. A trans-membrane fissure opens up in Zone 00 and begins interacting with the quantum teleportation network. Correlation with AI runtime errors discarded as unsubstantiated hypothesis. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. First sighting of living entities appearing through the membrane fissure in Zone 00. Ongoing conflict with surviving survey team interrupts in-depth inquiry. Year [ redacted ], star date [ redacted ]. None of the original survey team remains aboard the station. Deceased number [ redacted ]. Chapter 01 Year [ redacted ], star date 2010.07.08. New residents have come to the station. Sacrosanct is ready to receive them. After a period of intermittent influx of new arrivals, a large phase creature escaped into the residential zones, necessitating residents to take action. ("From Beyond It Consumes.") Intelligence Program Delta, piloting a recovered robot from Zone 00, together with a rune-caster named Hanna Falk Cross, managed to seal the phase creature into physical form. Garrus Vakarian, Agent Texas and her dragon Omega, Havemercy and the others participated in the ensuing melee. RED and BLU Pyros were among the casualties, though they quickly respawned. Hanna Cross, after losing a great deal of blood, had to be interred at the nearest medical facility. Residential Zone 05 (Gibson) is now closed for a period of one month, for cleanup. After the dust settled, outsider Lev made his first address to the people of Sacrosanct, accusing Hypatia of releasing the monster on purpose. So begins the struggle for the hearts and minds of the station's visitors. Category:Backstory Category:Events